We all need friends, and public lands in Western North Carolina increasingly receive care in the form of “Friends” nonprofit groups. In an era of shrinking federal budgets for parks and forests, these organizations are stepping up to preserve and maintain public spaces.
“I’ve had an opportunity to get to know Sheneika during this year’s campaign, and she is the real deal.”
“But no current technology removes the risk in putting pedestrians with hearing loss and cyclists on the same path. So, please, planners of greenways, take that into account.”
Asheville City Council passed a resolution condemning the actions of white supremacists and racial violence in Charlottesville earlier this month. Council members also resolved to support the designation of Big Ivy as a wilderness area, and voted to move forward with a phased approach to a greenway along Lyman Street to Amboy Road. A proposal to reduce the minimum width of residential lots by 20 percent citywide was sent back to the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission for further study.
While other planned greenways have bogged down in the face of rising costs — leaving the timeline for their construction in doubt — a flurry of fundraising, planning and design activity surrounds the planned Woodfin Greenway & Blueway. What does that project have going for it that other greenways don’t?
At a May 19 workshop, the greenway advocacy organization Friends of Connect Buncombe hosted a national expert, along with several local bright lights, to discuss strategies for supercharging greenway development.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved an economic incentive package and struggled with a rezoning request that highlighted zoning’s gray areas.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners may be in for a long night when it confronts a full agenda at its Tuesday, April 18, meeting. Commissioners will hear presentations for two grant requests totaling $6.2 million, and consider approval of an economic development incentive package worth $881,960. Commissioners will also hold public hearings on two […]
The question that may surprise and even confuse some Woodfin residents as they dutifully mark their ballots is: Should the 6,300 residents of the town of Woodfin take on an additional $4.5 million in debt to pay for a greenway, parks and other public works projects along the stretch of the French Broad that flows through […]
Asheville’s rustic, arts-and-industry-dominated River Arts District is on the brink of a major transformation. From road realignment, sidewalk construction and expanded bike lanes to an ambitious network of greenways with the RAD as its central hub, substantial changes will be taking place over the next few years that will improve the way residents and visitors to the city access, explore and inhabit the area.
Asheville City Council weighed concerns about private property rights, environmental impact, equitable access to public lands and “selfies with bears” before authorizing the Parks & Recreation Department to move forward on soliciting bids for the construction of the Beaucatcher Greenway.
“The park and greenway need immediate attention to address erosion, stormwater drainage issues and damaged trees. “
What if you could bike or walk all the way from Asheville’s Hominy Creek Greenway to the Bent Creek Experimental Forest? The Buncombe County Parks and Recreation department is studying the feasibility of a potential greenway segment along Brevard Road to the Asheville Outlets, and they welcome your comments and input.
City Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, March 22 at 5 p.m. will be preceded by a budget worksession at 3 p.m. in the first floor conference room of City Hall.
Government agencies and departments from Buncombe County and the City of Asheville are pursuing a slew of initiatives that will reduce the barriers to active modes of transportation like walking, biking and using public transit. In addition to their environmental benefits, these coordinated efforts also promote mobility, health and well-being.
Prior to the Tuesday, Jan. 19 Buncombe County Commissioners’ retreat, staff in various departments sat down and took a good look at the county’s priorities, coming up with ideas and alternatives of how to accomplish these goals in 2016 (and beyond).
The agenda for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ Tuesday, Jan. 19 retreat reads like a year in review: affordable housing, zoning actions, greenway projects, waste reduction and encouraging employers to pay a living wage.
For nearly 100 years, the dream of a high-elevation park offering close-range panoramic views over downtown has entranced yet eluded Asheville visionaries. With a new funding commitment from the Tourism Development Authority, can the planned greenway and park projects finally move forward?
The design for a key link that will help create the longest continuous stretch of greenway in Asheville has been finalized. The roughly 1-mile section will run through the New Belgium Brewing Co. site in the River Arts District and connect with existing greenway segments.
In her landmark 1955 book, The French Broad, Asheville author Wilma Dykeman said the river was “above all, a region of life, with all the richness and paradox of life.” She described a watershed rich in flora and fauna, ranging from the “fertile fields and gentle fall” through Transylvania and Henderson counties to the sudden “plunge between steep mountains” around Asheville, “strewn with jagged boulders.”
